Retaining ring



Nov. 17, 1942. Y R, N FALGE4 2,302,494

' RETAINING RING Filed Aug. 1`, 1941 @mi fz gag@ f (ttorncgs Patented Nov. 17, 1942 RETAINING RING Robert N. Falgc, Anderson, Ind., assigner to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Applicatie!! August 1, 194.1, serial No'. 404,977

5 Claims.

My invention relates to a retaining ring such as is used in automobile headlamps to hold the lens assembly in place.

In designing retaining members of the type here involved it becomes necessary te consider the effect of the application of stress to the lens which is usually made of glass or some other brittle substance. The pressure brought to bear on the lens must be great enough to keep it in operating position without being so great as to result in breakage. This problem becomes particularly serious in the case of sealed beam headlamps, where a crack in the assembly would destroy the seal. I have solved the problem by providing slots in the retaining ring opposite the holding means by which the ring is held in place. These slots are disposed transversely of the direction of the stress applied to the holding means. In this way the holding means on the retaining ring are made resilient enough to prevent breakage of the lens.

It is the principal object of my invention to provide a retaining ring of the above described type in which the holding means for the ring are provided with resilient connections to the ring by virtue of a slot in the ring disposed adjacent each holding means and transversely of the direction of force applied to said holding means.

Figure 1 of the drawing illustrates a sealed beam automobile headlamp assembly with parts broken away and in section.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of a retaining ring made according to this invention.

Figure 3 is a view in perspective showing a modified form of slot.

Referring to the drawing in detail, l!! is the exterior housing of a lamp assembly provided with a door l2. The sealed beam unit is designated generally by id.. This unit has a peripheral shoulder lo against which inwardly turned edge is of my retaining ring 2i! is brought to bear. Ring 2i) is secured to a stamping 22 which consiste of a cup-shaped member that forms the ball of a ball and socket joint of which member 24 is the socket. stamping 22 is adapted to support the sealed beam unit il! which is provided with rearwardly extending spaced projections on the shoulder I6 such as shown at 25 to engage the stamping 22.

Retaining ring 2i] is held in place by any suitable means such as screws 26. Door l2 is secured at the bottom to the lamp housing by a screw 28. Stamping 22 may be held in place by screws 30. Except for the retaining ring, the details of this lamp housing form no part of this invention, but

The cup-shaped member or are described and claimed in the co-pending application of Howard C. Mead et al., Serial No. 286.820, led July 27, 1939, which has issued as Patent No. 2,266,329.

As best seen in Figure 2, the retaining ring of this invention is provided with peripherally spaced upstanding lugs or ears 32Which constitute the holding means for the retaining ring. Lugs 32 may be drilled to provide for the passage of the holding screws 3ii. The force applied to lugs 32 is cushioned by the provision of resilient means. rFliese resilient means take the form of narrow supporting strips 34 for lugs 32 provided by slotting retaining ring 20 adjacent each of the lugs. Slots 35 may be made by actually cutting away or punching out a portion ofthe metal as indicated in Figure 2, or they may be made bya simple perforation process resulting in the slot 36' shown in Figure 3. The upstanding lugs 32 are stiiened or strengthened by the formation of reinforcing ribs 38 between lugs 32 and their connection to ring 20. One or more of these reinforcing ribs may be provided for each lug 32 but one has been found satisfactory for most applications.

It has been found that retaining members or rings similar to the one illustrated, but without the slots, often result in cracking or breakage of the lens assembly because the holding force applied to the ears or lugs is transmitted directly to -the lens assembly. It is therefore desirable to provide some means of resiliently applying this holding force. It is evident that this invention provides a simple method of relieving the lens assembly from such direct application of force.

I claimt l. The combination of a lighting unit comprising a reflector, lens and light source within the reflector, and a mounting for said unit including a supporting member, a ring overlapping the front edge of said unit, and means for securing said ring to said member and clamping said unit therebetween, said means including circumferentially spaced lugs on said ring with securing means to connect said lugs to said member, and means to provide for resilient movement of said lugs relative to said ring to relieve excessive clamping strain on said unit.

2. The elements set forth in claim 1 in which said last named means comprises relatively narrow strips connecting each of said lugs to said ring which are formed by providing circumferentially extending slits in said ring adjacent said lugs.

3. In a lighting unit including a lens and a supporting member for said lens, a ring to secure said lens to said member, said ring having a portion adapted to engage said lens and provided with spaced lugs, means connecting said lugs to said member to clamp said lens between said ring and said member, and means to provide for resilient movement of said lugs relative to said ring to relieve excessive clamping strain on said lens.

4. In a lighting unit including a lens and a supporting member for said lens, a ring to secure said lens to said member, said ring having a portion adapted to engage said lens and provided with spaced lugs, screw means received'by said lugs and engaging said member to clamp said. lens between said ring and said member, and means to provide for resilient movement of said lugs relative to said ring including slits in said ring adjacent said lugs with said slits extending transversely to the axis of said screw means.

5. In a lighting unit; including a lens and a supporting member for said lens, a ring to se- Cure said lens to said member, said ring having its iront edge extending inwardly to engage said lens and provided with a plurality of peripherally spaced outwardly extending lugs on the rear edge thereof, means received by said lugs to engage said supporting member whereby said lens may be clamped between the front edge of said ring and said member, and a plurality of circumferentially extending slits in said ring adjacent the rear edge thereof, said slits being located respectively adjacent said lugs whereby said lugs are integrally connected to said ring by relatively narrow strips which provide for resilient Vmovement of said lugs relative to said ring. Y

ROBERT N. FALGE. 

